Presentation 2 – Missouri Bar Association, June 10, 2004
Electronic Records: Legal Issues and Challenges 
Barclay Blair – Director, Technology Practice, Kahn Consulting Inc.
This session identifies key legal issues facing state governments in the management of email and e-records, and explores ways that these issues can be addressed through policy and technology-based controls and management. While governments have adopted email and information technology with much the same enthusiasm as private entities, their unique legal obligations also create unique records management challenges. For example, while the Internet allows many state services to be delivered more efficiently and cost effectively, the use of the Internet to provide access to public records raises a host of legal issues. In a post-9/11 world, many public records (such as those containing information about public utilities or roadways) that seemed innocuous in past take on new significance and require fresh investigations into balancing the public's right to know, personal privacy, and state security.
The public's right to access public records is only as real as the controls that governments have in place to ensure that records are first retained and managed properly, and then remain available for future access and retrieval. The growing volume, complexity, and diversity of email and other digital information in the possession of state and local governments makes this task more difficult than ever before.
This session examines the legal foundation for e-records; the challenges of proper e-record classification and management; providing for the inspection, examination and/or copying of e-records; public records and personal privacy in the email environment; and other issues critical to the use and management of e-records.
White Paper
The following whitepaper is a companion to the presentation given by Mr. Blair. It discusses the cases and anecdotes that were used in the presentation. It includes endnotes with citations.
Managing E-mail and E-Records: Unique Challenges for State and Local Government 
Randy Kahn Esq. and Barclay T. Blair
ABOUT BARCLAY T. BLAIR
Barclay T. Blair, co-author, of Information Nation and Information Nation Warrior
Director, Technology Practice, Kahn Consulting Inc.
Barclay T. Blair is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and consultant specializing in the business, policy, and management issues of information technology. Mr. Blair advises Fortune 500 companies, software and hardware vendors, and government agencies on a broad range of compliance information management issues. Mr. Blair has authored and edited dozens of publications, has spoken internationally on information management matters, and has lectured at George Washington University and the University of Victoria. Mr. Blair has edited and contributed to several books, including:
Email Rules (AMACOM Books: 2003);
Secure Electronic Commerce (Prentice Hall: 2001);
Beginning XML (Wrox: 2000); and
Professional XML (Wrox: 2000). Mr. Blair is the co-author with Randy Kahn of
Information Nation: Seven Keys to Information Management Compliance, published by AIIM in March 2004, and its companion
Information Nation Warrior: Information Management Compliance Boot Camp, published by AIIM in 2005.
Mr. Blair has presented to industry groups such as the American Counsel of Life Insurers, BNA Litigation Forum, LOMA Insurance Executives, Society of Quality Assurance, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Business Forms Management Association, Canadian Health and Life Insurance Association, ARMA International, AIIM International, the PKI Forum, the National Automated Clearinghouse Association and at the Managing Electronic Records conference.
ABOUT KAHN CONSULTING
Kahn Consulting, Inc. (KCI) is a consulting firm specializing in the legal, compliance, and policy issues of information technology and information lifecycle management. Through a range of services that includes information and records management program development; Information Management Compliance audits; product assessments; legal and compliance research; and education and training, KCI helps its clients address today's critical issues in an ever-changing regulatory and technological environment.
Based in Chicago, KCI provides its services to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies in North America and around the world. Kahn has advised a wide range of clients including McDonalds Corp., Hewlett-Packard, United Health Group, the Federal Reserve Banks, Ameritech/SBC Communications, Prudential Financial, Motorola, Altria Group, Starbucks, Mutual of Omaha, EMC Corp., Merck and Co., Sony Corporation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Recently a KCI whitepaper was judged the "top software whitepaper of the year," and members of KCI wrote two books addressing email management and compliance issues. More information about KCI, its services and its clients can be found online at: www.KahnConsultingInc.com.